The Once a Year Dress – Lipstick, Lettuce & Lycra

Any guide to clearing out your wardrobe always contains instructions to get rid of anything you haven’t worn for a year.

Personally I think that’s way too short a time. This dress, for instance. I am certain I never wear it more than once a year, but I love it and it’s not going anywhere.

The only reason I don’t wear it more often is that there needs to a very specific convergence of situations that make a super bright, strapless, vintage prom dress with net underskirts appropriate attire.

Vintage bright strapless summer dress outfit

Lets face it, this is not the sort of dress one wears to pop to the pub on a slightly drizzly Thursday in June, or fling on to pop to the shop.

No, this super bright, strapless, vintage prom dress needs the convergence of glorious sunshine, and a planned jaunt where I want to look a bit fancy. To wear the dress more often I have been known to interpret the second rule pretty loosely.

On Sunday I was just going out for lunch. Nowhere fancy, but the sunshine was bright enough to give the dress its opportunity. So I seized it!

The weather was stupidly hot. A head scarf to keep my hair out of the way, and sunglasses to hide the fact that my make up slid off the minute I left the house were essential accessories.

I also wore bamboo hoop earrings. I note that hoop earrings are on the list of things I shouldn’t be wearing after 30, so that’s another score. Super bright, strapless, vintage prom dresses I note are missing from the list. I assume that apart from the earrings this is a totally age appropriate outfit. Which is a little disappointing if I’m honest.

We went to Revolucion de Cuba for lunch and a frozen daiquiri. The bar is air conditioned, so I actually felt a bit chilly for about the first time in 3 weeks.

It was strangely refreshing. Remind me I said that in January.

So that’s this years outing for the once a year dress. It also went to see Ghostbusters. Honestly if we’d planned to go to the cinema I may have worn something different as it’s not the best sitting down dress, what with the net under skirts and the boned bodice. But hey, what can you do? Ghostbusters was an awesome film, so it distracted me from my inappropriate attire.

The dress got its first outing on the blog for a picnic back in 2010, and then another in 2012. It also made a guest appearances on Instagram in 2013 and 2014.

So I shall let this dress be the one that breaks the rules. Even though at least a year frequently goes by between wears. This vintage prom dress is staying exactly where it is.

So there.